Study: Narcissists Perform Better in Job Interviews

Think fast: In what scenario is it considered beneficial to boast at length about yourself and deflect all your weaknesses—and, oh, your financial well-being depends on you doing both of those really well?

While other answers to that question might be pretty funny (so leave them in the comments), the headline to this article gives the answer away. But it’s hard to think of another scenario wherein outright narcissism is encouraged and rewarded, and so it’s probably not shocking to see a new study out of the University of British Columbia suggesting narcissism levels correspond to how well job candidates perform in an interview.

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Before placing participants in job interview scenarios, researchers used questionnaires to measure their levels of narcissism. The study found that people who rated as narcissists were viewed as more attractive job candidates.

Videotapes of the interviews were later scored by a team of raters. Narcissists tended to talk about themselves, make eye contact, joke around and ask the interviewers more questions. As a result, the study found that people rated narcissists as more attractive candidates for the position.

The takeaway? Researchers say that job seekers headed into an interview shouldn’t be afraid to flaunt themselves. Those conducting the interview, meanwhile, should take measures to look past “superficial charm,” they say.